The tourist economy in Northern Ireland

In 2024, there were an estimated 4.7 million overnight trips in Northern Ireland, with associated expenditure of £1.1 billion.

In the past number of years the Northern Ireland tourism industry has benefited from significant major events such as The Open at Royal Portrush in 2025.

Future opportunities will arise with the growing demand for screen tourism following the worldwide success of programmes like Game of Thrones and films such as Belfast.

Northern Ireland has also benefited from other significant tourism developments including the opening of attractions such as the Game of Thrones studio tour.

Key statistics

Tourism statistics released by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) for 2024 show:

• Overnight trips to Northern Ireland by external visitors were estimated to be 3.1 million.
• In 2024, 1.6 million overnight trips were made by local residents (domestic trips). Domestic trips made up 33% of overnight trips, highlighting the importance of the domestic tourism market.
• 30% (1.4 million) were made by people living in Great Britain, 24% (1.1 million) were made by people from the Republic of Ireland.
• The remaining 12% (568,000) were made by international visitors travelling from outside the UK and Ireland demonstrating the draw of Northern Ireland as an international destination.
• Domestic performance was strong, with NI residents taking more trips, notably holidays, in NI and spending more.